The Stillness That Builds: How Slower Seasons Make Faster Leaders

 "All things excellent are as difficult as they are rare." — Baruch Spinoza

In the world of high-speed leadership, silence is often mistaken for stagnation. But every seasoned builder knows that it is in the stillness that structures are laid. Foundations don’t make headlines. But they carry the weight of everything that does.

Photo Courtesy of Renwick Brutus Media

One of my recent executive coaching sessions revealed just that. A shift from friction to flow, generated not by a whirlwind of action, but by a slow season well used. It began with a change in leadership, a baton passed from a status-driven model to one centered on mission, people, and shared values. And like water finally finding its natural path, the energy in the room, and in the organization, began to move again.

Leadership Is a Rhythm, Not a Race

In Maya Deren’s poetic films, time is not linear. It spirals, it echoes. Leadership, too, has its own tempo. You can’t out-hustle misalignment. You have to out-root it. You have to stop. Reroute. Replant.

The leader in the session used a slow first quarter not as an excuse, but as an opportunity. He used it as an invitation to onboard people with purpose, recalibrate team rhythms, and repair the frayed edges left by previous misalignment.

This is not what most leadership books celebrate but it’s where the real work lives.

“It’s not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular. It’s why he does it.” — A.W. Tozer

From Misalignment to Magnetic Clarity

Previously, the team had wrestled with a style of leadership that delayed decisions and diluted trust. But the arrival of a new leader, one who led with clarity, transformed the experience. Clarity does not depend on perfect plans. But it’s fostered by a shared purpose.

As bell hooks wrote, “When we are taught that safety lies in sameness, difference terrifies. But when we learn to value difference, we discover our greatest strengths.”

That’s what happened here. An environment was created where team members could act boldly with their differences, not because they were told to, but because they felt trusted to.

Embedding Values, Not Just Goals

A standout insight from the session was the invaluable distinction he was able to glean between direction and culture. Anyone can set a goal. Few know how to build belonging on the way there.

The advice? Build values into everything:

• Onboarding rituals

• Team reflections

• Leadership language

• Even into the pause between quarters

  
  

“When the music changes, so does the dance.” — African proverb

To lead well, we must teach our teams new steps, not just louder beats.

Slowness as Strategy

We often mistake slowness for weakness. But in this case, a deliberately slower Q1 opened the door for stronger long-term acceleration. New hires were onboarded with more intention. The future was predicted and planned. Decision-making was distributed to those best positioned to act.

This touches on what my colleague Daniel Burrus teaches about the "anticipatory mindset." It embodies wisdom. The kind that understands seasons and elevates strategy to achieve sustainability and market leadership.

Scaling Without Losing Soul

Ultimately, this session pointed toward the deepest kind of growth, growth of capacity. From centralized leadership control to decentralized trust. From one voice directing to many voices building. And if that sounds idealistic, consider this bit of insight from Ursula K. Le Guin,

“The creative adult is the child who survived.”

What we’re building in leadership transcends efficiency. It's culture that understands the past and the present but most importantly, anticipate the future. And culture isn’t developed by policies, but by people who know and live the dance and teach it.

In the words of the late MF DOOM, “Living off borrowed time, the clock ticks faster...” But time borrowed is not necessarily time invested. Too often, time borrowed is squandered by inattention and irrelevant action. This leader chose to invest in people, in systems, in stillness. And from that stillness, a deeper awareness and power emerged.

This is more than a leadership lesson. It’s a model for developing people and growing companies.

Renwick Brutus is the strategist behind some of today’s most irresistible and financially invincible professionals. As the founder of Achievement Resources and Prism Wealth Management, he combines 25+ years of advising executives, entrepreneurs, and organizations with a rare blend of business acumen and human insight. Whether you’re ready to elevate your strategy, impact or income, Renwick delivers with clarity the strategy and tools to help you succeed. Discover and share his books—“Irresistible Communication: Improving Trust, Relationships and Results,” “The Achiever’s Pocket Guide to Effective Networking,” and “5 Reasons Good Enough Isn’t Good Enough”—and start transforming potential into high-performance and exceptional outcomes. Visit www.renwick.rocks or www.achievementresources.com to begin your journey to clarity, confidence, and wealth—personally and professionally. Join the movement on social media and step into a life by design—not default. You may also reach Renwick here.